InDefence

ARE YOUR STAFF PREPARED? AND I MEAN REALLY PREPARED?

indefence — Tue, 21 Jan 2020 21:11:17 +0000

I was attacked at work!!

It wasn’t a dark and stormy night like all the best novels suggest…quite the contrary, an ordinary pleasant night by the water. A young group of rugby players attended a local restaurant that my security company was charged with protecting. They intended to have a good night out for dinner and a few drinks. It was St Patrick’s Day.

Unfortunately one of the young players insulted the wife of an ex golden glove champion in his 70’s who did what he knew best and started to punch the young player hard… really hard. The 70 year old didn’t know that he had 16 mates sitting outside but was about to understand what a multiple attack looked and felt like.

Security was called to attend (Police were already called) and as a result I decided to pop by the Manager and see how everything had unfolded. Unfortunately it looked like World War 3. Blood, broken bones, screaming and it was just getting started.

By this time the riot had moved outside where the bar staff were in a back and forward verbal assault of the rugby team, refusing to go back inside and lock the doors. These actions ignited round 2 which was far more violent than round 1 and I was caught right in the middle of the battle.

I got hurt, really hurt as did many of the staff. Upon the review process we noticed that three of the security personnel did nothing. They didn’t get hurt, they didn’t help, they just stood there, dumbfounded by the unfolding violence.

I don’t blame those guards for their inaction, it’s not their job to engage a group of young violent rugby players, and I’m sure they were incredibly conflicted by the reality of the job versus the training they had been provided. The Government approved training that teaches them to observe and report, which in the vast majority of cases within the security industry is insufficient and failing to prepare people for the reality of their role.

Staff in front line roles often find themselves in the middle of situations ignited by one of two reasons, someone else’s actions or words OR their own actions or words. Either way in the vast majority of cases the staff are simply not trained by their employer to mitigate or respond to acts of aggression or potential violence and the question is why? If an employer is going to demand that staff impose any type of perceived authority over the public population or deal with complaints whether they are security officers, emergency responders, fare collection officers, parking ticket officers, school teachers or carers then surely the employer must accept that its possible that those staff members might find themselves in vulnerable situations.

The last 25 years of providing security and personal safety services has shown three major barriers to organisations reluctance to provide training to staff to mitigate violence.

1. Organisational liability – all organisations are vicariously responsible for the actions of staff regardless of the type of training they provide. The question here is how liable is the organisation based on the training they provide? Failing to address the full spectrum of violence (ie. when the employee actually gets physically attacked) may leave your organisation heavily liable because your training only specifies, for example, how to remove themselves from the threat (usually cover and run).   What happens if leaving is physically not possible because the space is confined or the are being physically held by the aggressor during the assault. People have the right to defend themselves against violence. Usually untrained staff, while defending themselves, will and do, go way over the top leaving your organisation open to litigation. Training provides parameters and controls rouge employees by placing liability back on the individual.

2. Finances – operational need relates specifically to finances. It can cost a lot of money to train staff properly while maintaining normal operations. The question here is what is the cost of failing to provide training? One of our clients implemented violence mitigation training after a staff member illegally assaulted a member of the public. It cost them $600,000 in out of court settlements and $90,000 in costs associated with workers compensation.

3. Human beliefs – the number one reason for organisations failing to provide violence mitigation training relates to the fact that 90% of the civilised population believe one of two misconceptions. Violence doesn’t happen or It will never happen to me. It is this internal dialogue that sets the culture for the organisation and leaves everyone on the front line incredibly vulnerable.

There are huge benefits to providing your staff with violence mitigation training that significantly increases productivity and profitability while creating a culture that makes the employee feel that the employer will support them when things go wrong.

People in roles that deal with the public know that things can get out of hand, they have accepted that reality if they work in that role for a while and stay. The question is are you arming the people that represent your business with the tools they need to make your organisation look professional under difficult circumstances?

Ash Gard

Director

InDefence at Work

www.indefenceatwork.com.au

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Who Trains at InDefence? Rick

indefence — Mon, 20 Jan 2020 21:02:25 +0000

NAME

Rick Carusi

WHAT IS YOUR JOB TITLE??

Concreter

HOW MANY YEARS HAVE YOU BEEN WORKING IN THIS INDUSTRY??
I’ve been in the construction industry mainly concreting for around 18 years.

WHAT 3 WORDS DESCRIBE WHAT YOU DO??

Three words that describe what I do would have to be Hard strenuous work

WHAT DOES YOUR WORK ENTAIL??

My work entails placing/pouring concrete for everything from decorative footpaths and driveways to suspended decks columns and walls for multiple story buildings.

WHAT IS A TYPICAL WORK WEEK LIKE??

A typical work week can include preparing gear for pours, preparation of certain areas on a specific area of the job site for a pour and or rectifying defects in finished work.

HOW DID YOU GET STARTED IN THIS AREA??
I got started in the industry pretty much when I left school. My Dad’s side of the family are Italian so most of the men in the family do the same work I just followed in the footsteps hahahahaha

WHAT DO YOU LIKE/DISLIKE??

Most of my life I’ve loved playing drums and most board sports, skate boarding, wakeboard and snowboarding at the top of that list but as of a few years back Krav Maga has been my favourite pastime I wish I started years ago.

WHAT IS A COMMON MISCONCEPTION PEOPLE HAVE ABOUT

WHAT YOU DO??
A common misconception people have about what I do is that tradies, especially concreters I think, often get looked at as just dumb tradies but the truth is some of the most interesting and intelligent people I’ve met are concreters.

DO YOU HAVE ANY INTERESTING STORIES THAT YOU CAN TELL US??

An interesting story may be how I got started in Krav Maga with me taking my son for a class (back in 2013) and no other kids showed up.

Anna asked if I’d like to help hold pads for him and after some things I was shown I’ve been going ever since.

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Who Trains at InDefence? Tania

indefence — Wed, 18 Dec 2019 21:55:26 +0000

NAME : Tania Chan

WHAT IS YOUR JOB TITLE??

Graphic Designer & UX/UI Designer (with marketing background).
I also do manage investment properties.

HOW MANY YEARS HAVE YOU BEEN WORKING IN THIS

INDUSTRY??

10 years

WHAT 3 WORDS DESCRIBE WHAT YOU DO??

Design. With. Purpose.

WHAT DOES YOUR WORK ENTAIL??

Before I started off on my own, I was a national designer/marketing manager. I designed campaign and organised printings for over 150 retailers across Australia. I also co-ordinated events, trade shows and had to fly overseas to places such as Spain and Honolulu to attend conferences. It was actually hard work (no time for sleep or sightseeing!).

Now I run my design business. People usually come to me with an idea they want to bring to life or make better. Or maybe they want to refresh their business. Jobs I get range from website/app design, branding to marketing materials. My goal is to help improve people’s businesses and lives via design so I generally enjoy working with business who are passionate in helping their customers, regardless if it’s a small or large business.

With UX/UI design I usually get larger scale projects from clients with MUCH larger budget as it entails more. These clients are usually looking to build some sort of web, mobile, software app. UX stands for “user-experience” so it involves me talking/interviewing users a lot. I also create wireframe, prototype and have people test my ‘dummy’ apps/websites. If users finds issues with the website/app (eg they think it’s confusing), I redesign it until it seamlessly make sense. I then move into the UI (user-interface) phase where I make the website/app look colourful and pleasing to your eyes. I’m always asking my friends/families whether they want to volunteer in my interviews and testing haha.

My website is www.taniachan.com

I also accidentally started a digital portrait biz the other weekend. It’s called ‘The Sleepy Alchemist’ (www.facebook.com//thesleepyalchemist)WHAT IS A TYPICAL WORK WEEK LIKE??

I left the 9-5 office life 2 years ago to work remotely. I have more flexibility in my hours and enjoy the freedom of being able to work anywhere in the world. However, it requires so much discipline (which I lack ha!). Last year, I briefly worked from cafes and co-working spaces in Thailand, Korea, Hong Kong etc. I ended up working from home this year but it eventually got extremely boring and lonely. I do have one co-worker though – she does nothing but farts, randomly poops besides me and tries to eat my food. I eventually decided it was time to leave the house and that’s how I joined you guys in Krav! (FYI – my coworker is our dog, Momo. Not a real human).

HOW DID YOU GET STARTED IN THIS AREA??

I was always into visual art as a kid and during high school became very intrigued in psychology (mainly on how human thinks and feel). I really want to help people but was too creative to be working in a clinical environment. So I decided to study Graphic Design, Marketing (consumer behaviour) and eventually UX/UI.

WHAT DO YOU LIKE/DISLIKE??

I like food, travelling, photography, architecture, misty weathers, big cities and of course, Krav Maga and HIIT training.

I dislike cockroaches, fruits (I have a fear or eating fresh strawberries, cherries, raspberries) and dead fishes. I rather be stabbed once by a knife than slapped by a slimy dead fish.

WHAT IS A COMMON MISCONCEPTION PEOPLE HAVE ABOUT WHAT YOU DO??

People thinks design is just about making things pretty in ‘photoshop’. It’s more than that. I’m a multidisciplinary designer and design to me is about crafting solutions to solve problems, minimising stress, making things seamlessly easy to use and creating positive experiences – not necessarily just for app and websites. When I designed my first investment property I asked, “how can I make this house functional for a family who works from home”. The solution was as simple as putting a spare room at the front of the house and the family room at the back so they can confidently conduct business without clients invading into their private space. When designing, I also have to take into consideration accessibility (i.e. designing for those who are visually impaired, disabled, language barrier etc). Have you ever gone to a foreign airport/train station where you don’t know where to go because you can’t read the language? Well, that’s bad ‘user-experience’ design. I would’ve include visual cues (eg icons) to make transport experience better for foreign people. I actually spend a lot of time empathising and understanding how the users may think or feel.

DO YOU HAVE ANY INTERESTING STORIES THAT YOU CAN

TELL US??

I used to do marketing at a swimming pool company. I’m bilingual and sometime mixes words up. Once I presented a new campaign to the sales team and the whole sales team started dying from laughter and calling my campaign disgusting. My campaign was, “When you buy a robot pool cleaner, you get a FREE phosphate tests”. What’s so disgusting about it? Turns out, I’ve been pronouncing phosphate wrong the whole time. I’ve been calling it “PROSPHATE” and with my slight Chinese accent, the sales team thought I was asking them to give out free prostate tests for every pool cleaners they sold.

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WHO TRAINS AT INDEFENCE – DAN

indefence — Tue, 26 Nov 2019 00:55:10 +0000

WHO TRAINS AT INDEFENCE?

During the last 12 years of running our classes, we have had a whole range of people from all different kinds of backgrounds, who work in all kinds of roles and have all sorts of stories to tell, come through our doors to learn self defence skills and tactics.

Over the next few months we will be highlighting some of the people who train with us, their stories and experiences. Enjoy!

NAME
Dan Martinez

WHAT IS YOUR JOB TITLE?
I am a manager at my parents’ café called Barrio Café.

HOW MANY YEARS HAVE YOU BEEN WORKING IN THIS INDUSTRY?
I’ve been managing Barrio Café for about 3 years now.
Check out their page here: https://m.facebook.com/barrioespresso/

WHAT 3 WORDS DESCRIBE WHAT YOU DO?
Make awesome coffee.

WHAT DOES YOUR WORK ENTAIL?
My main roles at Barrio Café are to provide on the job training to new staff, create weekly rosters, as well as, being a cook and qualified barista. In addition to this, I am responsible for ordering ingredients, drinks, and packaging for food, opening and closing the café, and conducting interviews and performance meetings

WHAT IS A TYPICAL WORK WEEK LIKE?
We are typically open 7 days a week, 6:30am to 3pm. We are usually hard at work prepping for the weekend during the week. Although, our weekdays have been getting busier and busier. As all of our food is prepared at the café, we need to stay diligent and make sure we are making enough beef patties, steak, and chicken for our burgers. As well as, making sandwiches and wraps for quick takeaways. This is all while cooking food and making coffees for our customers.

HOW DID YOU GET STARTED IN THIS AREA?
My father worked in hospitality his entire life and no longer wanted to work for other people. With the help of my mother, they opened their own café and being able to manage the café took some stress away from my parents.

WHAT DO YOU LIKE/DISLIKE?
As it is a family business, it is possible to spend too much time with family. However, having support with the business at all times is unlike any other job I’ve had.

WHAT IS A COMMON MISCONCEPTION PEOPLE HAVE ABOUT WHAT YOU DO?
Unlike fast food restaurants, our amazing food and coffees are made to order. We do put a lot of love and care into our products and take pride in this. All of our food is prepared and cooked at the café and is not mass produced or frozen.

DO YOU HAVE ANY INTERESTING STORIES THAT YOU CAN TELL US?
A talent scout visited the café one day and met my father. She was adamant on him being an extra in King Kong: Skull Island. At first, he refused. However, this did not deter her. She visited him again another 10 or so times until dad finally caved in and accepted her offer. Now, dad has appeared in a number of movies as an extra and was a main extra in King Kong: Skull Island, even appearing in the trailer.

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Top 5 Benefits of Weekend Classes!

indefence — Tue, 16 Jul 2019 23:17:03 +0000

TOP 5 REASONS TO TRAIN AT OUR WEEKEND CLASSES! (AND THE WEEKDAY ONES ARE GREAT TOO!)

For alot of you, weekdays are a blur of activity from fitting in work, kids and family time and everything else we have to do.

That is why our weekend training classes are great! Classes start back for Term 3 this Saturday (20th July) so this is a great time to try out our Trial deal of 3 classes for only $20. Read below for just some of the great benefits of our classes!

1. Motivation – it’s motivating to be surrounded by dedicated and like-minded people.

2. Class Options – We run Kids and Adults Krav Maga Classes and Kids and Adults Brazilian Jiu Jitsu classes so you can train while your children do too = time for you!

3. Time – without having to rush back to work or home, it leaves time to catch up with your fellow students to grab a coffee and have a chat after class (we do this after every class).

4. Positive start to the day – doing physical exercise (as well as learning some great self defence skills) gives you a fantastic, positive start to the weekend!

5. Variety – every class has something new to learn – new techniques, drills and safety tips.

So, no excuses, come along on Saturday morning and join us!

#indefencepss #kravmagagoldcoast #saferbydesign #indefencejiujitsu #weekendwarriors

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The juggle of School Holidays!

indefence — Mon, 15 Jul 2019 04:00:42 +0000

As always, the school holiday break is (and probably is for most people) a juggling act. A mixture of spending time with the kids (see image of yesterday spent at a Medieval Festival :)) but also working. Over the last few weeks I had a number of days away for work but 2 days that really stuck with me were my days training groups of children and teenagers.

It never ceases to amaze me the dedication and types of occupations the people whom don our doors have. Some, like me, feel they have a cause rather than a job and there is no better example than the women and men that are the Veteran Mentors.

This incredible group of people help children that are struggling with the world by teaching them the confidence and the strategies to stand on their own two feet, take responsibility for themselves and install a value system that creates long lasting change.

Recently I was privileged to be invited to their training headquarters and teach the children some simple self defence strategies to help them navigate the realities of this wonderfull but sometimes tragic world.

Talk about flash backs….these dedicated women and men, mostly retired service men and woman with military and policing backgrounds, create a military experience similar to what you might expect when you step off the bus at Kapooka on your first day of basic training.

Absolutely the hardest point in anyones military career as the instructors create the tenets that you are expected to conform to. Turning civilians into military personnel, or in this case asking rebellious kids to take simple instructions without question. Very hard for anyone with an anti authority perspective I’m sure. I did giggle to myself because unlike these young warriors I volunteered for that experience.

Can I just say that I have taught in many schools and I can honestly say that these young people were respectful, hard working and giving it their all. Something that not many schools manage so a huge well done to the Veteran Mentor team who in just 3 days bought out the best in this group of lost teens.

What a valuable experience for someone who feels like they are the odd one out, an opportunity to socialise with other people feeling similar thoughts, each bought to that point through totally different circumstances yet all sharing that similar internal voice of doubt. I’m sure once they jump out of a plane during the Veteran Mentor program their internal dialogue will be changed forever from I can’t and I won’t to I can and I will!!!!!

Another amazing group of people I had the pleasure of working with recently is the Gilston PCYC Holiday program. Wow what an incredible group of little people ranging from Prep to Year 5 and the lungs on them holy moly, deafening lol.

Our training started with organised chaos with kids running and shouting but then coming together as a team to help each other complete small safety related tasks, never leaving a person behind.

Thank goodness for kick shields because the power in the kids kicks to our shins when they were faced with a hard wrist grab would have had me begging for mercy.

Laced with games like stuck in the mud and dodgeball, these young ones identified who they could trust in their time of need, how to use their voice to bring attention to their situation and even removing someones hands from around their throat.

Ultimately a fantastic couple of hours with a lot of smiles and no tears so a win all round!!

See you at training.

Ash

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SAFE Mag Vol 14

indefence — Tue, 05 Mar 2019 01:55:39 +0000

Please click on the link below to check out our 13th edition of SAFE by InDefence. Inside you will find loads of interesting articles, recipes, photos and much more!

SAFE Magazine Vol 14

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Carjacking Article in GC Bulletin

indefence — Sat, 09 Feb 2019 22:30:31 +0000

This article was published after an interview with us on our Carjacking Workshop.

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SAFE Mag Vol 13

indefence — Thu, 01 Nov 2018 02:08:41 +0000

Please click on the link below to check out our 13th edition of SAFE by InDefence. Inside you will find loads of interesting articles, recipes, workouts and much more!

InDefence Magazine Vol 13

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Hotel or Safe Haven?

indefence — Wed, 30 May 2018 21:11:55 +0000

Everyone enjoys a good holiday, specifically the thought of being able to switch off and unwind, conversely, business travellers rely on having accommodation that enables them to get adequate rest before important meetings.

Here are some tips to consider when choosing accommodation: Click here for the full article

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